Isles' Worry Is Goalie, Not Gm

MICHAEL RUSSO ON THE NHL

January 28, 2001|MICHAEL RUSSO ON THE NHL

Things have become a circus on Long Island, and it would be shocking if General Manager Mike Milbury isn't fired after the season.

Remember Milbury's words after trading Roberto Luongo last summer: "My job is clearly on the line, and if we're not a better team immediately, if not a very good team over the long haul, then it's off with my head." Through Friday's games, the Islanders were tied for last in the Eastern Conference with 33 points. But things hit a boiling point last week when veteran goalie John Vanbiesbrouck ambushed a New York Post reporter, calling him into the locker room and slamming the door behind him.

Vanbiesbrouck then called every player into the dressing room, as well as the entire coaching staff, including head man Butch Goring, and berated the reporter over an article that claimed Vanbiesbrouck wants to be traded.

The report said Vanbiesbrouck has told "confidants" that he wants to be dealt to a contender, and Vanbiesbrouck was apparently confronted by teammates that morning.

For 10 minutes, Vanbiesbrouck, according to all parties, dressed the reporter down.

Goring said he'd never seen anything like it. Anonymous players have been quoted as saying Vanbiesbrouck was out of line.

Disagreements between reporters and athletes are common, but they're usually handled in a more civil manner.

In fact, when Vanbiesbrouck was with the Panthers, he usually handled disagreements with reporters in a more mature fashion by pulling them aside for one-on-one talks.

But Vanbiesbrouck was just being Vanbiesbrouck on Tuesday. In his final year with the Panthers during the 1997-98 season, Vanbiesbrouck became a bully.

While continually uttering phrases like "You can only look at yourself," after several games during the Panthers' infamous 15-game winless streak, Vanbiesbrouck looked every which way but at himself.

According to a number of players, he regularly chastised young defensemen such as Ed Jovanovski and Rhett Warrener after perceived defensive-zone lapses. And he lashed out at some other players, mostly the Panthers' youth.

He became miserable to be around and a cancer in the locker room after General Manager Bryan Murray said in February 1998 that he planned on shopping Vanbiesbrouck.

While everybody wants to rip Milbury about this, that and the other thing, his biggest blunder last summer was placing Vanbiesbrouck in his locker room.

It made no sense. By all accounts, as much as the Islanders struggled last season, they had one of the most cohesive locker rooms in the NHL.

They were a rebuilding team with a lot of up-and-coming youngsters who liked each other but needed positive influences.

But on the day of last June's draft, Milbury traded both his goaltenders, Luongo and Kevin Weekes, and drafted Rick DiPietro first overall.

He then traded for Vanbiesbrouck, bitter at that point because he was virtually run out of Philadelphia by the media and GM Bobby Clarke for giving up ill-timed goals despite pretty solid numbers.

Yet Milbury decided to take this 37-year-old grenade and put him in a locker room filled with fragile 20-somethings.

If ever a player was wrong for this situation, it was Vanbiesbrouck. Just look at his turbulent track record in his final year in Florida. He's just the not the type of player you want around when things aren't going well.

On game days he doesn't talk to anybody, and one has to walk on eggshells around him. It creates a tense, unhealthy environment, especially on a team filled with young, inexperienced players like the Islanders.

When the Panthers were a tight group of overachievers the first four years, Vanbiesbrouck was a character and team player off the ice and the biggest reason for the team's success on the ice.

During the fifth season, in 1997-98, Vanbiesbrouck was furious with management for not extending his contract and wanted out.

He became a despondent guy off the ice, critical of everyone and the biggest reason for the team's downfall.

Whether Vanbiesbrouck says he wants out or not, Milbury would be best served to kick him off the Island.

Sticks and stones

Just like any other sport, trash talking is prevalent in the NHL, and that became extremely obvious during a Toronto-Buffalo game last week.